The Perfect Tool for the New and Seasoned Six Sigma Student
Back Story
This backstory involves the creativity of two men: Brett and Chris.
This song and corresponding music video are actually a kind of sequel to a song and video that we produced 4 years ago. Brett is an engineer for a certain major automotive firm. As part of his Six Sigma training, he was required to attend a training course for Minitab Software. Part of Brett’s assignment was to develop a creative way to present what he had learned. Brett, being musically talented, quickly wrote a song. He hijacked his church worship team to record the song and talked Chris into shooting and editing the video.
The final project was a tremendous success, considering that the two men only had about 4 days invested in the total project. You can view the original video here: Mini Tab Video
With the modest popularity of the Minitab Song among Minitab users, Chris was motivated to produce a sequel. He wanted to develop a hip-hop sequel. Upon further pondering and reflection, it was decided that the song and video would have greater success if it broadened its focus beyond that of a singular software package. So, feeling good about this rationale, Chris decided to write a rap song about Six Sigma and not a Minitab follow-up.
The lyrics were completed in January of 2009. Primary musical recording began in October of 2009 (again with the hijacking of the church worship team), with some secondary and tertiary recording following. A trombone and a flute part were recorded but never used. The final version makes use of a mandolin, acoustic guitar, electric bass, drums, and a baritone sax. There are an estimated 100 man-hours alone in the mixing of the song. 6 Sigma Samurai was mixed using Logic.
Video production began in June of 2010 with subsequent re-shoots taking place along the way as the ever evolving script dictated. Our final video, though amateur at best, incorporates both rudimentary CGI and green-screen special effects editing. Final Cut Pro and Motion have been used to edit and render the video as well as develop all special effects shots. Approximately 300+ man-hours have been spent in the filming and editing of this 5-minute music video.